Official: Rumor led to false report of active shooter at Fowlerville High School

A parent who made a call to 911 about 11:30 a.m. to report an active shooter was given false information by a student who had heard “rumors” of a student with a gun, said Fowlerville Superintendent Wayne Roedel.(Photo: ChiccoDodiFC, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Officials said a report of an active shooter at Fowlerville High School on Thursday was false.

A parent who made a call to 911 about 11:30 a.m. to report an active shooter was given false information by a student who had heard “rumors” of a student with a gun, said Fowlerville Superintendent Wayne Roedel.

“A parent called central dispatch and reported an active shooter in Fowlerville schools, which is not correct,” Roedel said. “These were rumors that students sent to parents, and a parent called and that is not accurate information. The building is safe.”

Roedel added that he had spoken with Jeff Soli, a police officer with the Fowlerville Police Department who is employed as the district’s full-time school liaison officer, and Soli assured him the building was safe and secure.

“There was never a gun in the building,” Roedel said.

Roedel said he would be sending a communication to parents to let them know the report was false. There was no planned disciplinary measure of students as it was a rumor, and not a false report made by students.

While such rumors occur regularly, Roedel said there have been no actual threats, including bomb threats, in several years.

“Kids are kids, they hear things and it gets passed from student to student and we call it the telephone game and there’s no way to prevent that,” he said. “Still, if students hear something, call the office and talk to administration. And certainly parents ought to call the buildings if they hear a rumor.”